148 West 121st St.

148 West 121st St.

148 West 121st St., Manhattan

The rowhouse at 148 West 121st Street is characteristic of the many endangered buildings found in the Mount Morris Park Historic District during initial surveys. Of approximately 642 buildings in the combined New York City and National Register Historic Districts, 79 were in perilous condition. This degree of endangerment contrasts greatly to the other 79 historic districts where relatively few troubled buildings were found.

One-third of the endangered buildings in the Mount Morris Historic District were city-owned at the time of the 2000 survey, including eight that had been part of a large group of properties acquired fraudulently by bogus non-profits. As the real estate market improved dramatically in the area over the last five years, a significant percentage of the formerly derelict buildings have been restored by a combination of private investment and city programs.

The shell of 148 West 121st Street stands between two well-tended and occupied buildings with intact details, such as stained-glass transoms. All were built between 1886 and 1887, designed by the firm of Bartlett Smitt & Sons in a modest neo-Grec style.